Do I have some sort of ANXIETY PROBLEM?

Question

I'm a natural worrier, I constantly worry about things that I know I cannot change - from small things like erasing all the chalk marks off the board to bigger things. When something happens to be that I percieve to be a bad situation (whether it is in actuality or not), it hangs over my head all day and I constantly worry about it. When that happens, it gets hard for me to focus on things I enjoy doing (like reading, simple stuff like that) or I try to do things to prevent the situation from getting worse. I constantly worry and jump to conclusions and usually, instead of thinking, "What's the worst that could happen?" I think, "What are all the bad things that could happen?" One of my friends tells me that I read into things too much, I am too much of an analyzer and worrier and I need to stop obsessing and stressing out over things but I disagree with him, believing that I should be upset. Is this true or not? He is quite a "no stress" type of person.

So what is it, do I have some sort of anxiety problems or what?

Examples of big things that worry me: parents fighting, boy trouble (as silly as it seems), whether or not people are being mean/deceitful to me on purpose, etc.

Answer 1

I would have to respectfully disagree with the above poster who says there is no such thing as a born worrier.

I am a born worrier. I have always been anxious, and when I was 21 I was diagnosed with a few anxiety disorders.
Just to tell you, Alexandria, nobody who doesn't experience anxiety themselves will really understand it. Like some posters here, they will tell you to 'just relax', or, most annoyingly, to chill out or something similar.

Whilst anxiety may be your natural reaction to many things in your life, you can certainly help to make your worry levels more comfortable and manageable by either seeing a cognitive behavioural therapist, or buying some sort of self help book. The best one for you would, again, deal with cognitive behavioural techniques (CBT for short).
Good luck with dealing with your worry, and remember, the sooner you can arm yourself with tools to manage the anxiety feelings, the less out of control this condition will get.
Also, if you do an internet search, there are loads of supporive forums out there for people with anxiety disorders. Obviously, see a doctor to get diagnosed properly if this is affecting your quality of life, which I assume it is because you have posted here.
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Answer 2

No such thing as a 'natural' worrier.

Worries, and people who fret over them, are the result of feelings of vulnerability.A worrier is someone who has been taught to worry about things because they have been taught they have no 'control', no sayso in their lives, and thus everything is an active (and potentially malicious) presance, which they are passively trying to prevent.

You worry about things because you have not been taught that you have the power to render them meaningless. Consequently, you have not learned the proper balance between what can (and should be) resisted and what must be endured.

No one can make themselves absolutely safe: a normal person strikes a balance between doing what they can and leaving the rest to faith/chance/God/Simon Says, etc etc etc.

Lets take an example: a flood is reported on the tv, so many people dead, so many people left homeless. A normal person, affected by the news, would do something active: send a donation, write a letter, volunteer, etc etc, because they believe they have the power to alleviate the suffering they see.

A worrier, because they ultimately feel powerless, instead of doing something 'active' worries about it, because that is all they believe they can do. If someone is rude to them, they don't say anything, they dwell on all the 'terrible' possibilites that could occur. If the store shorts them on their bill, they swallow the complaint, and then go home and worry about all the other money they might have lost or will lose (they worry about money they haven't even lost yet).

BTW, listening to your friend is contributing to your worries. Because you don't value your opinion, you try and follow his 'advice', which is basically in contradiction to your own, so consequently because you can't follow it, you worry about not following his advice rather than saying to yourself "he doesn't understand, that's his problem." It could be he is trying to help, but someone trying to help, who doesn't know what is going on, is no help at all.

Just because he doesnt believe in stress doesn't mean that stress isn't real for other people. Find someone who sees and understands the stressful world you see, and you will closer to getting the help that you need.

Answer 3

Where do we draw the line between what's personality and what's a problem?

Psychiatry and the diagnosis of psychological problems is a hard science because each person is different - each person is a unique case. The question is - do you feel you have a sort of anxiety problem? A problem is when it intereferes with your daily living. You mentioned it gets hard for you to focus on simple activities - that might indicate a problem.

However, let me say this, in response to the person who told you just to get some meds - medication is not fun. The medication's side effects (for anxiety meds) may include insomnia, nausea, sexual side effects or depression. People who need medication are those who are willing to put up with these side effects in order to have relief from their anxiety.

Milder cases of anxiety may benefit from the world of talk therapy - learning behavioral patterns that help you cope with your anxiety and strategies to help you relax and not worry so much.

If you decide this is a problem in your life that you would like fixed (because it can be fixed) talk to a doctor, a parent, a counseler, or anyone else who could help you fix this sort of problem.

Hope this helped!

Answer 4

Quit trying to be so perfect! My gosh, my head's swimming just reading your questions. Slow down, and breath. Leave extra chalk on the board. Who cares,really! You can't predict the future so let it just happen, and enjoy the moment,. That's the best advice I can give you is FOCUS, on the moment, and what you are doing at the moment.
Right now, you are your own worst enemy. I think we all are guilty of this at times. You don't have to analyze people, unless they're about to mug you at gun point, and then, say Fine, just take my stuff and get lost!
You don't need pills, just an outlet, to vet your extra energy. Have you worked out, or ran around the mall lately? You can learn a new hobby like painting, sculpting, crocheting, make dolls, for children. Well you get the picture right?
Learn to laugh!

Answer 5

I have some of the traits that you mention; and I've suffered for many years from Social Anxiety Disorder. If you've got friends, I don't think you have that condition.
With my condition I do over-analyze and pre-judge situations to the point of living a life absent of spontaneity. I also do , if I experience a bad situation, tend to let it preoccupy me for the whole day, running it over and over in my head.
Also, everybody's problems are my problems,the World's problems are my problems. I worry why the next door neighbor is behaving as they are, and I worry why the President of the United States is behaving the way he is. Everything is personal to me.

Anyway, at the moment I'm analyzing what your reaction to this answer might be, and it's not looking good. So,I 'll wish you Good Luck and leave it at that.

Answer 6

Sounds like generalized anxiety disorder

Understanding it is most important, http://www.psychologynet.org/ganxiety.html

The best therapy is:

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cognitive_b... worked best for me. I suffered from social anxiety for over 15 years. I've tried meds, individual therapy, and group therapy and studied psychology for 10 years, as a profession, but also with the hope to cure myself.

Depending on your comfort level, you could go to a psychologist that practices CBT and specializes in anxiety disorders, seek a group therapy, or create one. Another idea is to see if there are any local research studies being conducted that you could participate in.

The program that finally worked the best for me is this one: http://www.socialanxiety.us/findinghelp.... and I was lucky enough to have a structured behavioral group to go along with it. Sometimes the people that actually attend this program come back home and form groups.

Any questions, let me know ... I can't tell you how much this has improved my life!

Answer 7

Yes, Your friend is absolutely right. you need to stop obsessing and stressing out over things. You could seek an medical advice, or take ' Xanax ' to soothe you.

Answer 8

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